Hedwig Lamarr has patents for jam-proof frequency-hopping radio-controlled torpedoes, and who knows what else. Though she may not be a good fit in this thread as by now she may be more famous for being an amateur engineer and inventor than for her cinematic career.
That’s Hedley Heddy!
Ken Levine is best known as a screenwriter for some of the best TV shows of all time (M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons). But since retiring from TV work, he’s taken up cartooning, with many of his contributions appearing in The New Yorker.
Yeah, when I was trying to figure out where else I knew him from, I saw that he was in musicals. Based on little other than that performance, he certainly seems to have a voice made for just that. I think he’d make a good Hedwig.
Another one from Taskmaster. I can’t find a good compilation, but this guy…
…is surprisingly good at sports. He shows up in high heels looking like the fucking crow boy and does a whole lot better than you’d expect at all the physical tasks.
Minchin is not just in musicals; he wrote the songs for the musical versions of Matilda and Groundhog Day.
Noel Fielding.
Is Dave Gorman, one of Britain’s finest standups, known in the US? (Wiki)
Unexpected sideline:
In 2020, Gorman began setting cryptic crosswords for three British newspapers, first to The Independent under the pseudonym “Bluth” then to The Daily Telegraph under the name “Django” and to The Guardian under the name “Fed”.
(Note: these are serious newspapers with serious crosswords).
j
If he’s known over here, I don’t think he’s known well. I know him from his season on Taskmaster and I may have seen him on some other British shows, but it doesn’t look like he’s spent any time in the states (touring) since the 2000s.
Is he on XM at all? Before I found all these British comedy/panel/game shows, I really only learned about non-US stand up comedians through XM (which I don’t currently have).
Dolph Lundgren is a 4th dan black belt in Kyokushin karate (Euro champion in 1980 and 81) and has a master’s degree in chemical engineering. He had a scholarship to study at MIT, but while packing for Boston he happened to meet Grace Jones. He quit MIT after 2 weeks.
Dunno, I’m afraid. But I went and took a look at YouTube to see if I could find a sample of his work for you; and in fact I found 36 episodes of his TV show Modern Life Is Goodish - all posted by the man himself, so presumably legit. Enjoy.
j
Not sure if this belongs here, but Chris Hemsworth (Thor) learned to play drums and inconspicuously played behind Ed Sheeran at a concert until he was called out. I have no idea really how good he is, but good enough to not draw attention to yourself playing in a stadium concert with a professional band is pretty cool.
What hasn’t he done? In his younger days he was a radio disc jockey in several large markets including Los Angeles. Later he moved into broadcast sports and was part of the Baltimore Orioles broadcast team, then moved on to do play-by-play for other teams as well.
Actor Jason Lee (Mallrats, My Name is Earl) was a professional skateboarder.